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Yanks Complete Sweep As Rookie Wins Debut

BOSTON, Sept. 10 — Randy Keisler's major league debut lasted five innings today, long enough to qualify for his first victory, too short to satisfy youth's ambition. told before the sixth inning that he was finished for the day, Keisler sat next to the bench coach Don Zimmer and asked, in a roundabout way, why he had been taken out so soon.

Zimmer was born in 1931, Keisler in 1976. Most of Zimmer's hair is gone, Keisler's black locks are gelled spikes. Zimmer loved the subtle confidence in Keisler's question. "Son, let me tell you something. . . ." Zimmer began his explanation.

Everybody laughed about the story later, after the Yankees completed their 6-2 victory over Boston and a backbreaking three-game sweep of the Red Sox. Keisler, the first Yankee starter to make his debut in Fenway Park since Ralph Terry in 1956, rebounded from a shaky first inning to win, allowing five hits, three walks and a run. Dwight Gooden pitched well in relief and Scott Brosius banged a two-run homer.

The turn of the century represented hope for long suffering Red Sox fans, but it is September and there is the usual refrain. They will probably not win the World Series for the 82nd consecutive year, and will even be hard-pressed to make the playoffs; they are hindered by injuries, they are not hitting, they are playing poorly. Boston all but rescued Keisler from his first-inning difficulties with a base-running mistake.

Before he began warming up in the bullpen, Keisler paused to glance around Fenway Park, on his first day as an active player in the major leagues. The place was packed, many of the fans wearing bright T- shirts that reflected the sunshine. There is so much green here — the seats, the wall, the grass. Some Red Sox fans yelled at Keisler benignly. The rookie turned to Mel Stottlemyre, the pitching coach, and remarked, "It doesn't get any better than this."

Stottlemyre could tell that Keisler was excited, true to the left-hander's reputation, and when Keisler kept pumping high fastballs in his warm- ups, Stottlemyre reminded him gently that he needed to keep his pitches low in the strike zone.

At the outset, Keisler had no control, the butterflies in his stomach gnawing at him. Keisler said during the week that if he could just get through the first inning, he would be O.K.; immediately there was some question about whether he would last that long. He walked Boston's leadoff hitter, Darren Lewis, on four pitches, then walked Jose Offerman.

The Red Sox had runners on first and second and nobody out; the All- Stars Carl Everett, Nomar Garciaparra and Dante Bichette were to follow. First baseman Tino Martinez and catcher Jorge Posada jogged to the mound to settle Keisler, Martinez reminding him to just have fun, telling him he would be fine.

With Everett at the plate, Lewis broke for third base, moving on his own, and Offerman followed Lewis's lead and headed for second. Posada threw to third, cutting down Lewis by a yard or so. The play was a reprieve for Keisler.

Lewis was bothered by questions about his decision later. "I got thrown out stealing — did I commit a crime?" he asked.

No, but he defied the long-held baseball axiom that you never make the first out or third out of an inning at third base; in doing so, he stunted a rally for the slumping Red Sox. After Everett popped up for the second out, Garciaparra smashed a fastball high against the left-field wall, a double that scored Offerman. Keisler later noted the strangeness of this hit: the Green Monster, which supposedly chews up left-handers, had actually helped Keisler because Garciaparra's drive would have been a home run in any other park.

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Keisler fell behind Bichette, three balls and no strikes. Stottlemyre strolled to the mound. "You're aiming the ball," Stottlemyre told him, reminding him to just enjoy himself. Keisler took a moment to remind himself that he had worked his whole life to get to this point.

Bichette flied out to end the inning. As bad as he had been, Keisler had allowed only one run. He sat on the bench next to Zimmer, who assured him that everybody is nervous in their first game.

Keisler was already beginning to relax, his natural confidence counterattacking his anxiety, before the Yankees took the lead in the top of the second.

Brosius rocketed a two-run homer off Pete Schourek, Brosius' second home run in two days.

Keisler's control improved, he began locating his fastball and changeup better, and the Red Sox hitters were off balance. In substance and style, Keisler reminded Posada of Denny Neagle, the Yankees' other left-hander.

The Red Sox failed to score in the second, and the Yankees increased their lead to 3-1 in the top of the third. Keisler got through the third inning easily, but Manager Joe Torre was still monitoring him closely. Gooden began warming up in the fourth when Garciaparra doubled and Keisler fell behind in the count to Bichette, then sat down when Keisler escaped that jam.

Keisler walked the leadoff batter to open the fifth and Gooden got up again. Once the inning was over and Keisler had qualified for his first victory, Stottlemyre told the left- hander that he was finished for the day, after 72 pitches. His idol Roger Clemens — whose posters adorned Keisler's walls for years — shook his hand, and others followed. When the congratulations were over, Keisler sat next to Zimmer again, with a question. "Was my pitch count high?"

Zimmer explained that it was better to come out too soon than too late and come away with a positive feeling, especially in a debut.

Gooden allowed one run in the final four innings to get his second save, the Yankees added three runs in the seventh inning. Keisler watched the final out on a large-screen television in the clubhouse. Soon, Keisler was posing for pictures with family members who traveled from the Southwest to see this game, his father and mother among them.

The Yankees (82-58) will play the Red Sox (73-67) in a makeup game in Yankee Stadium on Monday. The Yankees lead second-place Toronto by eight and a half games and their magic number for clinching is 14. They are playing better and more consistently than at any point this season.